In the year 2000 CE, the US presidential election coincided with the anniversary of the October revolution. Not having focused much on either, I had blithely arranged a team-building event at a bowling alley that night. That may be the only time that I have ever been repeatedly called a "capitalist pig", and it also was the reference implementation of the message that you don't try to drink a Russian under the table. In case anybody is curious, Campari does not dilute the alcohol in vodka all that much. Although it makes for a pleasant color and a, let's say, different, taste.

As for free love (which, given the alternative, seems pretty reasonable), our elder daughter spent a good chunk of her undergraduate career at Reed College. Motto (from the 1920's): "Communism, Atheism, Free Love". An excellent school, which, on an intellectual level, is probably more similar to the University of Chicago than to just about any other US college.

What school is Badiou? I've always ignored him as a Zizek-type philosophiser. Is the book any good? The title sounds puzzling.

Continental, post-Marxist, with strong grounding in math, logic, and Platonism. Or post-Platonism if you like.

He’s part of the Generation that was influenced by May ‘68 events in France, but he has declined to be lumped in with the postmodernists in general.

Even so, other reference points would be Lacan and Deleuze, also Sartre and Hegel, and Cantor.

He has influenced Zizek.

Some people might throw all of this out and point to the Sokal hoax, but Badiou has read so much across so many fields - the lines of thought are really engaging though difficult. Not Pomo BS in my opinion (even though I enjoyed Derrida years ago too - so I’m biased for, not against...).

I think it’s worth a try and maybe 2-3 tries. ; )

Shorter works include Polemics and Metapolitics. But Being and Event and Logics of Worlds (B&E II) are where the framework is laid out in intricate detail. Also Theory of the Subject.

As for free love (which, given the alternative, seems pretty reasonable), our elder daughter spent a good chunk of her undergraduate career at Reed College. Motto (from the 1920's): "Communism, Atheism, Free Love". An excellent school, which, on an intellectual level, is probably more similar to the University of Chicago than to just about any other US college.

Trackstar, thanks for the introduction to Badiou!
I cringe at calling popstars like Zizek philosophers, and Badiou is often mentioned next to him by Twitter intellectualists - hence my reservations.
The set theory Cantor? What has he done to philosophers??